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HIV and the Blood Supply: Assessing MANTRA Legislation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Carolyn R. Thompson
Carolyn R. Thompson*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina—Charlotte, USA
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Abstract

Despite a dramatic decline in transfusion-associated AIDS, increased safety of the national blood supply, and voluntary efforts to find alternatives to homologous blood sources, Americans remain fearful about the possibility of acquiring AIDS through a blood transfusion. Numerous states have initiated legislative efforts that would require explicit warnings about blood safety and that would direct patients to alternative sources of blood. These proposed laws—known as MANTRA bills, for “mandatory notification of transfusion alternatives”—would require physicians to advise patients of blood transfusion options prior to any surgery. Many would mandate the development of new informed consent documents and involve health departments in the implementation of new regulations regarding transfusions. This article concludes that MANTRA legislation is primarily a symbolic attempt to reassure the public about AIDS. It mandates practices that are being adopted voluntarily; it will not make the blood supply safer; it will increase the cost of health care to individuals and in the aggregate; it may diminish the number of donors to the voluntary blood supply system; and it is likely to intensify public fear about the risk of a blood transfusion.

Type
HIV and the Blood Supply
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , August 1995 , pp. 221 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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References

Legislation Cited

California Assembly Bill 787, Amendment to the Health and Safety Code, February 1991.Google Scholar
Georgia House Bill 1576, Amendment to Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia, September 1992.Google Scholar
Illinois Assembly Bill 4164, Blood Safety Act, April 1992.Google Scholar
Indiana Senate Bill 451, Blood Transfusions and Donations, April 1993.Google Scholar
Maryland Senate Bill 427, Blood Safety Act, March 1993.Google Scholar
Senate Bill 64, Blood Safety Act, February 1994.Google Scholar
Massachusetts House Bill 2643, An Act Requiring Surgeons to Inform Patients of Blood Transfusion Options, May 1991.Google Scholar
Michigan House Bill 5144, Amendment to Public Health Code, September 1991.Google Scholar
New Jersey Senate Bill 3053, Blood Safety Act, June 1991.Google Scholar
New York Assembly Bill 7711, Blood Safety Act, April 1993.Google Scholar
Senate Bill 5284, Blood Safety Act, May 1993.Google Scholar
Pennsylvania House Bill 1944, Blood Safety Act, June 1993.Google Scholar

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